


Boxers

by TheAuthorWhoWrote



Series: Wearing His Clothes Saga [11]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Ben x Evie, Carlos is a good bro too, Core Four, Embarassed Ben, F/M, Family, Fluff, Funny Banter, Jay is a good bro, Jay x Carlos, Mal x Harry, Swearing, VK’s - Freeform, conclusion, tons of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 09:43:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20225791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAuthorWhoWrote/pseuds/TheAuthorWhoWrote
Summary: love/ləv/noun1.an intense feeling of deep affection.





	Boxers

It was indeed a fact that happiness could be sought in the minor acts of life, moments in which an insignificant thought or action had an impact that no one estranged from that instant would understand.

The happiness at finding the last pack of potato chips at the back of the cupboard; opening the cereal box to find a free toy inside; and finding out your favourite TV show had been renewed for another season. All sources of the blinding glow of purity that happiness can bestow, in which we bask and give thanks for. Ben had indeed found one of these moments himself; it featured heavily the presence of a girl who had forced upon him a menagerie of emotions. To find Evie wearing his clothes had become one of those odd delights in life, a sight that would instigate a flush of warmth throughout his chest coercing an expression of pure adoration and content.

This lazy Sunday morning had embellished itself with the exquisite bow of this charming sight, his gaze glistened with the soft sheen of admiration paired with a gentle smile which further perpetuated his appreciation of her. Evie herself was sat cross legged upon the glossy black counter of the breakfast bar; her sapphire curls framed her sharp features in a tousled style. Upon her upper half she sported a slouchy black sweater, although the notable item of clothing was the pair of striped boxers she wore. The mundane blue and white striped pattern had earned the nickname of "_royal_ _pants_" by their current wearer, although that clearly did nothing to deter her from wearing them. He was glad of that. The somewhat romanticised vision of domesticity they had painted was somewhat made more real by the languid and rather uncouth manner in which Evie chomped away at her apple, the juice spraying from each bite.

Escaping from consumption the sweet liquid found refuge upon her chin, before it soon fled with gusto trickling down the contours of her elegant neck. The ungainly manner in which she ate her breakfast fruit did nothing to put a dent in the admiration he felt for her, they had reached a point in their relationship where they no longer felt the need to hide their bad habits.

Although Ben could not deny the bemusement he felt at some of Evie’s decisions, on this occasion it was the fact she was sat on the countertop instead of the numerous stools available,

"Really Eve? Do you need to sit there? There's a stool right there." As he spoke he continued to stir their coffees, knowing only too well that Evie had a habit of struggling to function in the morning without some form of caffeine.

She shakes her head. Mouthful of apple,

“_Mhy_ _Cashtle_”

Domesticity and what was regarded as the usual norms of two people in a relationship had been something Evie had found surprisingly hard to adapt to... again. She still wondered now whether the authenticity of the situation made it bordering on impossible for her to accept the behaviors that she was expected to deliver.

But _this_... this was a whole other ball game; she was required to be herself because someone actually wanted that, they wanted the complete and utter mess that was simply her. That role she had seemingly struggled with for well... ever, she had encountered so many identity crises that she still wasn't entirely certain on who she was.

Was she the person she was because she had been told to be? What if things had been different, would she still be the same girl she was now? Most likely not... but maybe that could be a good thing. A product liable to defects, damaged and dented to a point where it was hard to identify which parts were functioning and which were not. _But_ _he_ _wanted_ _that_, wanted every scratch and fault with no shoddy patch up jobs in sight and she honestly could not deny him that. So here she watched Ben make her morning coffee and bickered with him in the playful manner she so often used,

"Plus, freedom Ben, I thought that is what you stand for? I have the freedom to sit wherever I want. Because it’s _my_ _castle_~" Her pink lips preened themselves into the cheeky grin he had admired many a time, its appearance a signature sign that she was indeed teasing him. As she took another large mouthful of apple, the pungent proud essence of victory emanated from her; coaxing a sigh of defeat to escape from him although he too featured a grin,

"Okay you got me there." As he cradled her coffee within his large hand he carefully shuffled towards her, before he passed it into her much smaller palms. Taking it from him she gazed up into his bright hazel eyes, allowing herself the luxury of falling into that gaze knowing full well that he wanted her there always. She wanted to be there too. Looking up from underneath her thick lashes she enquired softly,

"Three sugars?" His lips curved into that all too familiar smile, as he replied,

"Of course." That was plenty enough reason for her to tilt her chin, an indication that a kiss was a resolute certainty at this current moment, and on successfully reading his cue he bent down to press a chaste kiss to her lips. The moment unfortunately was rather short lived, as what sounded very much like a small herd of _elephants_ traversed into the communal kitchen.

It wasn't a herd of elephants; in fact Ben thinks he may have been able to turn a blind eye to that; however it was Jay, Carlos and Mal. At their immediate entry Ben had quickly torn himself away from the intimate stance he had held before Evie, and had hurriedly returned back beside the counter where his coffee had remained.

It wasn't that he didn't want his fellow friends to know of his changed relationship status, it was just that it had never come up and he and Evie had never _discussed_ it, allowing the subject to fall to the wayside seemingly unimportant. He couldn't help however the way his brow furrowed at the sight of her expression of amusement, the failed concealment of a slight titter that indicated perhaps he shouldn't be quite so uptight.

Jay waltzed towards the stool settled near Evie, as he plonked himself upon it before he carefully prised the cup of coffee from her hands, an act that was rather daring although remarkably allowed. To accompany his rather bold theft, was a tongue in cheek word of gratitude,

"Thanks babe you shouldn't have." On taking a sip however it became rather apparent why she had allowed him to take it in first place, as he spluttered his features scrunched into an expression of pure disgust and revulsion,

"_God_ _woman_ what are you trying to do? _Poison_ me?" As he shoved the offending beverage back into the waiting hands of its original owner, an amused smirk liberally illustrated her features as she replied,

"_Believe_ _me_ if that was my intention you'd have been gone long ago." Basking in the aftermath of triumph against her dear friend, she took a blissful sip of her coffee, whilst Jay replied with the tone of sarcasm that had become a regular feature within their friendship,

"_You're_ _too_ _kind_."

Opposite this exchange of a rather casual and relaxed manner was one of a completely opposite nature, as a rather anxious king tried in all earnest to appear of a somewhat '_normal_' disposition. This however was something Ben had not quite grasped the hang of; he was by temperament a King and therefore was not skilled in the line of deception driven by concealment and performance. A spy or actor he was not, so it came as no surprise that as Carlos strolled towards him that with one glance he identified that something was not quite right,

"You okay Ben? Who's ruffled your fur?" Ben’s hand instinctively squeezed around the cup he was holding, the pressure around the ceramic hard and pressing although he had to remind himself that the strength he possessed could shatter it if he had the inclination to. Definitely not a discreet incident, so with that in mind he allowed his grasp to ease although the discomfort he felt did not follow it's leave too. In a poor show of feigned innocence he stuttered back,

"Eh... _what_?" With an eye roll that illustrated the severe lack of patience Carlos had with anything and anyone, an exasperated sigh fell from the dog lover’s lips as he quipped back,

"Is a bone stuck in your ear? I mean how many more metaphors are there?" Carlos continued to peruse the cupboard that was above the counter top before him, the open door obscured his face from Ben’s view making it all the more easier to fib,

"I'm fine... just... thinking that's all." As he pulled forth a bowl and a box of cereal Carlos closed the cupboard, revealing a creased brow and a slanted purse of lips to indicate that he was entirely not convinced by his friend’s response. For Carlos however the current moment called for more pressing matters such as food, so he continued with that task allowing the odd demeanour of Ben to be put on hold.

Meanwhile Ben himself took a much needed gulp of his coffee, the pungent scent and heat brushed across his cheeks as he did so, whilst he glanced over the rim to find the sight of Evie smirking at him. Her smirk was always a precursor to a teasing comment or observation and Ben was sure that his appalling show of some sort of composure was definitely going to come under fire. Carlos had finished making his breakfast and was now on to the important task of devouring it, as he did so he asked offhandedly,

"So what are you two _lovebirds_ up to today? Or do I not want to know?"

Ben flinched at the inquiry, his feet somehow failed to coordinate properly as his previously secure stance fell apart as he swayed and floundered.

The movement created enough momentum for his coffee to splash over the rim and on to him, leaving a dark scorching stain upon his pristine white t-shirt, whilst the liquid still within his mouth proceeded to coax a menagerie of coughs and splutters. On finally clearing his airways he procured enough composure to slam his cup back upon the counter, before he averted his gaze towards the offending stain upon his chest, his fingers plucked at the material pulling it taut and toward him to allow further inspection. The empty space that awaited his response was deafeningly present and falling victim to its wish he croaked out,

"Wh... Wha... _What_?" On casting his gaze back to his company he found Jay trying in earnest to stifle a snigger, although the glint in his eyes proved how amused he actually felt as he chuckled through a sly grin,

"Oh give it up Ben, everyone knows about you and Evie here." Ben’s brows leapt high upon his forehead, his eyes now unmistakably wide as he pursed his lips in a pathetic attempt to look somewhat indifferent. He really needed to learn how to conceal what he actually felt, he had always dismissed those observations of those who declared he wore his heart on his sleeve, it seemed he not only wore his heart but his brain there also.

As he sought out Evie’s gaze he tried to wordlessly call out for help, what did she want from this situation? What would she do or say to divert the attention? Or would she just come out with it? She did not answer to any of those questions, instead she looked entirely indifferent towards the entire situation and completely unmoved by the possibility that everyone would find out about them. As Carlos finished a large mouthful of cereal, he casually pointed out,

"I mean even _Mal_ knows, right Mal?" Mal had resided on one of the other stools nearby, her attention had long been held securely by the phone in her hand, so initially she merely hummed in agreement. Although a mere second later it clearly occurred to her that when conversing with Carlos it was better to check what you had agreed to rather than bypassing any details, as she halted her texting and glanced up,

"Eh what?" Her enquiry was met with clarification from Carlos himself,

"Beauty and the beast here?" A small shrug relayed that the girl did indeed know who the topic of discussion was even without the use of their proper names, a clear indication by Ben that the cat was completely out of the bag and had indeed been wandering free for some while. Mal reiterated Ben’s assumption as he remarked,

"Oh yeah I knew _ages_ ago." On concluding her involvement in the conversation was finished she returned to her initial object of interest, something of far more significance than the dating habits of her friends and teammates— even though _she_ _was_ _texting_ _Harry_.

All eyes were back on Ben again, and on having procured no encouragement, determent or instruction from Evie herself he continued to not have a clue on what to say or do,

"What? No... it's not... I mean..."

Carlo’s voice interjected, as he jabbed the air with his spoon and stated,

"_FYI_ _she's_ the beast." Evie knew now that Ben had endured enough discomfort, confusion and apprehension for one day and perhaps it was in fact time for her to intervene. She knew they knew, hell Jay had recognized what she had felt for Ben long before she had even known it herself. He needed to know now, because if it had been up to him he would have told them all but he had deflected, averted and dodged the truth all for her.

Grand gestures of romance and affection was something out of the movies, out of epic stories and legendary myths, things she was told by her mother when she was younger— but everyday Ben held her in mind with minor actions or words crafted just for her. His flailing ability to lie or deceive on this occasion was one of those, the good intentions he held when regarding everyone, everything and her was something she marvelled at daily.

She did not hold this trait in an equally easy manner; self-interest had been part of her life for so long it was sometimes hard to be so empathetic to others. She had been trained to put herself first always, she was trained to be Queen, and not necessarily a good one. To care about herself, but somehow this teaching had managed to bypass him, slithering past unnoticed to allow her affection to lie before him; her trust had placed itself daringly into his hands. She owed him,

"Ben they know." Ben’s brow immediately lowered allowing a crease to form that portrayed his bafflement at her statement, a point he reiterated as he questioned,

"How?" He was answered by Jay, as he so often did he took it upon himself that it was indeed his responsibility to bestow some clarity upon the situation, stupidly everyone let him and listened,

"She was wearing your clothes... always, I mean 21st century dating tip 1-0-1 if a woman wears your clothes they either, _a_) fancy you, _b_) they're _fucking_ you, or they're _c_) in love with you. It's _science_." With his explanation concluded he took Carlo’s spoon from his hand and shoveled a large spoonful of cereal into his mouth, although not all flakes made it inside his mouth as one stuck to his chin, no one told him.

Ben looked back to Evie to see that she had actually nodded her head in steady agreement, and he could not deny the relief he felt that everybody now knew and that most importantly she did not mind it. It did not however do anything to deter the shock and numerous questions that now plagued him over the duration that his companions had know of his relationship with the princess, or the embarrassment he felt over his failed and rather pathetic attempt to conceal the truth.

Once again they were left alone, Ben had started to tidy up the aftermath of breakfast although most of the dishes and food left behind weren't actually his or Evie’s, but it seemed he was now not only a King but a cleaner too. After all that had come to pass the silence within the room seemed eerie and unsettling, only the mere movements of Ben himself could be heard. Evie was usually one to like silence, she felt comforted by it and it had long been a companion to her throughout her life, but it wasn't right. She still resided upon the countertop, although now she had brought herself to the edge allowing her legs to hang down, as she observed the young king she so cared for,

"Ben..." He continued to tidy although he turned his head toward her, his hazel eyes gazed up at her in a manner that reminded her very much of a wounded pup, as he acknowledged her,

"Hmm?" She didn't need him to say it because every inch of his expression indicated that what had come to pass that morning had not settled well on him, for that she felt painfully responsible. With the grace and poise she naturally possessed she moved elegantly from her chosen seat, allowing her to land soundlessly onto the floor before she made her way towards him. On placing herself by his side she softly traced his jawline with her fingertips, an affectionate action that had become a regular feature within their relationship and one of which both were fond of. As she looked upon his face a gentle smile curved her lips as she hushed,

"You know, you're _far_ too good for this world Ben." Reading between the lines Ben could see that she also meant her, because ever since they had become... something he could see it as clear as day. She held this constant view that she could never be worthy of him, could never be deserving of his affection and the contentment of which he had brought to her life. As she continued to caress his jaw he tilted his head ever so slightly, his lips sought the soft pad of her thumb where he pressed a kiss to it and replied,

"Eve _don't_..." Before he could finish however she interjected, intent clear upon her face,

"_Don't_ _what_? Speak honestly? voice my opinion?" Her tone held the attractive teasing manner that was so her, as she reiterated to him words he had indeed said to her before. Once upon a time he had battled for the words of comfort he had created just for her, once before he had asked her to be honest and to speak the truth in a moment in which she struggled to do so. He had no comeback and she knew it, his expression was dumbfounded but she could also see from the curve of his lips that he was simultaneously warmed by it too. Her hand dropped from his face as she relinquished her touch and glanced at him in triumph, as he replied within a chuckle,

"No you can do that always." With that he continued with his initial task, an assumption that their conversation had now ended, however Evie remained where she stood, as she agreed firmly,

"Okay." The events of their morning had made it clear that Ben beheld her in a way that no other guy ever had, the ways in which he adored her continued on into a precious list that Evie was sure she would indulge herself in reading forever if she could.

She didn’t _need_ a perfect prince, or a large castle...

No she did not need that but she _needed_ him because she _wanted_ him... because **_she_** **_loved_** **_him_**. He loved her imperfect self, she didn’t _need_ to be perfect for _him_. His presence made her _feel_ better and made her _be_ better, he gave her an example of who she wanted to be, she wanted to do good not just for the reason of wiping her past of blemishes by helping people, but because it was the _proper_ thing to do. It was _moral_ and _honourable_, just like him, and she had ashamedly not been that enough in her life. That she truly regretted, but she wouldn't regret this. Calmly and without fear she declared,

** _"_ ** _ **I love you."** _

**Author's Note:**

> Wow I never actually finished a book before... _feels good._*Henry Danger voice*__
> 
> __  
_ Hello readers old and new, hello readers that's reading this far into the future, glad you could make it to the end._  
__  
_However the end is nigh, and it has now been written so I really hope you enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed writing this entire story._  
__  
_‘tis is the end of a saga_  
__  
_Your reviews and kudos and just the amount of support and love for this story has blown me away and I can't thank you all enough so I hope this chapter expresses that in the form of the beautiful relationship of Ben and Evie. _  
__  
_Much love and appreciation and until we meet again <3_  
__  
_-TheAuthorWhoWrote_  



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